Herbal supplement use can lead to drug addiction

Teenagers who use herbal products are more likely to move on to
more harmful drugs such as cigarettes, alcohol and narcotics,
according to a paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society
for Adolescent Medicine in the US.

Teenagers who use herbal products are more likely to move on to
more harmful drugs such as cigarettes, alcohol and narcotics,
according to a paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society
for Adolescent Medicine in the US.

"Kids who used a herbal product were almost six times as
likely to use cocaine, almost seven times as likely to use
methamphetamine, almost nine times as likely to use heroin, and
about eight items as likely to use other illegal drugs,"​ said
Dr Susan Yussman of the University of Rochester School of Medicine
in New York.

She assessed data from a 1999 survey of a random sample of more
than 2,000 high school students living in Monroe County, New York,
and found that almost 29 per cent of students said they used herbal
products to either feel better or perform better in sports or
school. These students were also found to be much more likely to be
using other drugs as well, she discovered.

"We should definitely be asking our adolescents what herbal
products they are using,"​ Dr Yussman said. "This could
potentially be a marker for needing a thorough, in-depth substance
abuse history."​

Nearly 25 per cent of first year students used herbal products,
rising to 30 per cent for older students. Supplement use was more
common among Hispanics (33 per cent), followed by whites (31 per
cent) and Asians, Native Americans and Pacific Islanders (29 per
cent). African Americans accounted for just 12 per cent.